1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to uses of an extract of dehulled adlay seeds; more particularly, to the treatment of gastric ulcer and/or stomach cancer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gastric hyperacidity and gastroduodenal ulcers are a very common global problem today and occur mainly in the stomach and proximal duodenum (Nneli, R. O.; Nwafia, W. C.; Oji, J. O. Niger. J. Physiol. Sci. 2007, 22, 1-13). The leading cause of gastric ulcers is an infection by Helicobacter pylori (Nneli et al., 2007), while dietary habits, smoking, drinking, and consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were also reported to elevate the risk of gastric ulcers (de Barros, M. P.; Lemos, M.; Maistro, E. L.; Leite, M. F.; Sousa, J. P. B.; Bastos, J. K.; de Andrade, S. F. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2008, 120, 372-377). The pathophysiology of these disorders focuses on the aggressive stress and defense mechanism of the stomach, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) production, mucus secretion, nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) groups from the liver, and blood flow (Nneli et al., 2007). Recent research showed that the ingestion of NSAIDs promotes the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and was attributed to increasing oxidative stress in the human body (Das, D.; Bandyopadhyay, D.; Bhattacharjee, M.; Banerjee, R. K. Free Radical Biol. Med. 1997, 23, 8-18). ROS play critical roles in the development of acute gastric lesions induced by stress, ethanol, and NSAIDs (Das et al., 1997). In addition, lipid peroxidation of cell membranes induced by ROS causes DNA damage because of the free radicals, and cancer-causing mutations may occur (Halici, M.; Odabasoglu, F.; Sulayman, H.; Cakir, A.; Asian, A.; Bayir, Y. Phytomedicine 2005, 12, 656-662.)
Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) seeds, also called Job's tears, are a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and have long been used as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat warts, chapped skin, rheumatism, and neuralgia (Li, S. C. Pen-t'sao kangmu (Systematic Pharmacopoeia); China, 1596) A recent study showed that dehulled adlay (DA) modulated the microbiota in the intestinal tract of rats (Chiang, W.; Cheng, C.; Chiang, M.; Chung, K. T. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2000, 48, 829-832.) Also, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of adlay were elucidated in vitro (Lee, M. Y.; Tsai, S. H.; Kuo, Y. H.; Chiang, W. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 2008, 17, 1265-1271; Kuo, C. C.; Shih, M. C.; Kuo, Y. H.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001, 49, 1564-1570) Contents of various potent compounds in adlay seeds from different origins were quantified (Wu, T. T.; Charles, A. L.; Huang, T. C. Food Chem. 2007, 104, 1509-1515). Several phenolic antioxidants were isolated from adlay seeds, and bioactive components in adlay seeds were found to be stable during processing (Hsu, H. Y.; Lin, B. F.; Lin, J. Y.; Kuo, C. C.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003, 51, 3763-3769) Lignans and phenolic compounds were isolated from adlay hull (AH) in an assay-guided isolation (Kuo, C. C.; Shih, M. C.; Kuo, Y. H.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001, 49, 1564-1570). Flavanone and several phenolic acids were isolated from anti-inflammatory fractions of adlay seeds (Huang, D. W.; Kuo, Y. H.; Lin, F. Y.; Lin, Y. L.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2009, 57, 2259-2266; Huang, D. W; Chung, C. P.; Kuo, Y. H.; Lin, Y. L.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2009, 57, 10651-10657; Chen, H. J.; Chung, C. P.; Chiang, W.; Lin, Y. L. Food Chem. 2011, 126, 1741-1748. Phenolic alcohol in the adlay testa (AT) was reported to possess antiallergic activity (Chen, H. J.; Shih, C. K.; Hsu, H. Y.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58, 2596-2601). In addition, DA and adlay bran (AB) were shown to retard carcinogenesis through an anti-inflammatory pathway (Shih, C. K.; Chiang, W.; Kuo, M. L. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2004, 42, 1339-1347; Li, S. C.; Chen, C. M.; Lin, S. H.; Chiang, W.; Shih, C. K. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2011, 91, 547-552), and ferulic acid was regarded as the active component in a further investigation (Chung, C. P.; Hsu, H. Y.; Huang, D. W.; Hsu, H. H.; Lin, J. T.; Shih, C. K.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58, 7616-7623).
Although there are many uses of adlay seeds reported, various applications of extract of adlay seeds remain to be developed.